Member spotlight – Ann Bingham

Ann is one of Bayside Tri Club’s (BTC) seasoned triathletes, having raced for at least 6 years at various distances (Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman). Achievements so far include competing in the Standard Distance World Champs in 2018 at the Gold Coast with 6 other BTC women and coming in the top 10 in age group in a handful of half marathon road races.

Ann is dedicated, enjoys smashing her training sessions, and has a great base level of fitness. She’s also passionate about supplementing her swim, bike and run sessions with strength, flexibility and effective nutrition. Recovery hasn’t always been as high on her agenda though – she has a tendency to push herself hard in training, which can occasionally lead to exhaustion and/or illness. To combat this, she engaged BTC’s Sean Lynch as her coach this season. This has led to tweaks such as recognising where to improve hydration and managing her heart rate between disciplines.

On Sunday 12 November 2023 Ann, along with 15 or so other BTC athletes, competed in the Melbourne Ironman 70.3 set in St Kilda’s beautiful Catani Gardens. Unexpectedly windy weather saw the swim course altered and shortened from 1.9km to 950m, for the safety of all competitors. The 90km bike and 21.1km run course took in expansive views of Port Phillip Bay, palm tree-lined boardwalks and iconic buildings. Which sounds idyllic, but to be honest triathletes don’t notice, as they’re too busy digging deep. But hey, it’s a nice setting for spectators 😊.

Describing her race as enjoyable and cathartic, Ann loved the lift she got from seeing her BTC buddies at run station 3, bringing energy and enthusiasm to everyone passing through. Ann said she was ecstatic to complete the course in an overall time of 5:15:23.

This amazing result meant Ann bagged the medal for coming second in Victoria in the Long-course State Championships! Not only that, she later won a place at roll-down to represent Australia at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Taupo, NZ in December 2024. Whoop whoop! Go Annie, we’re super proud of you and your triathlon career!